The nation’s apex court, the Supreme Court, has refused moves for fresh trial on a property dispute in the Surulere area of Lagos.

The controversy over the matter has been whether contending ownership claims  were actually in respect of the same property in the Surelere axis of Lagos, which began as a dispute between Alhaji Moshood Ajala and Yekini Sowumi.

As the parties and their successors sought for judicial interpretations over the original ownership of the property located at No 17 Olusola Keku street in Itire  axis, it was an attempt by one of the litigants to obtain a judgment on the identity of the disputed property  that brought the matter before the Supreme Court, which eventually upheld the verdict of the court of Appeal against the trial court’s decision.

The  Apex court ruled that the appellants were wrongly advised to have taken the step to commence a fresh action over the matter and consequently the suit was dismissed.

Originally, both Alhaji Moshood Ajala and Yekini Sowumi, had commenced  the suit at the Lagos High  Court, suing Mr and Mrs Augustus O. Agbokere.

At the demise of both plaintiffs, the case was taken up by one Jimoh Alabi Alapo, who prosecuted the suit to the apex court.

Before the trial court, the plaintiffs sought a declaration of entitlement to a statutory right of occupancy in respect of the controversial parcel of land in dispute between the respondents and Ajala in suit No. ID/333/80.

The respondents further pleaded that the trial court had entered judgment in their favour in suit No. ID/333/80 and that the judgment was affirmed by the Appeal Court.

The respondent asserted that they owned the parcel of land in dispute.